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"Allah would not place a burden on you, but He would purify you and would perfect His grace upon you, that ye may give thanks." — Holy Qur'an 5:6

 

:: Post No. 16: The Meaning and Significance of the Divine Name Rabb (Lord) ::

Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025

 

Ya Ali Madad! This post has two parts.

 

Part 1. Knowledge Section

In this post, I am going to explore the meaning and power of the Divine Name Rabb, the Lord, Master and Owner. I first looked up the word, Lord, in the general index of the book titled, 'A concordance of the Qur'an' authored by Hanna E. Kassis, 1983, University of California Press, Berkeley (ISBN 0-520-04327-8). I saw four qur'anic root words: kabir (*K B R), rabb (*R B B), sayyid (*S W D), and mawlâ (*W L Y). The two most pertinent root words and their meanings for this post are presented below:

 

RABB (noun masculine) (pl. arbàb)—master, lord; the Lord (God)

MAWLÂ (noun masculine) (pl. mawâli)—master, lord, patron; Protector (Divine attribute)

There are approximately 900 entries derived from the root word Rabb (pp.971-989) and 21 from the root word Mawlâ. The only root word with more entries than Rabb is 'Allah' which has approximately 2600 entries. This shows that the root word 'Rabb' is very important because it is referred to in approximately 900 ayats of the Holy Qur'an and it is in second most cited word in the Holy Qur'an.

 

With the above background, let us first read some of the teachings of Ibn al-'Arabi:

 

  1. Rabb and Its Relationship with the Cosmos
    (Source: Ibn al-'Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination: The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William C. Chittick, State University of New York Press, 1989)
  2. Chittick writes: The divine name Lord (Rabb) denotes the relationship between the Divine Essence and all creatures. Though the Essence is Independent of the worlds, the creatures have a need of It for everything they are. The name Lord alludes to the divine root of the existent things, since God is the "Lord" of all, and all things are His "vassals" (marbub) [i.e., vassals means things or persons who are in a subservient or subordinate position in relation to the Essence of God]. The Koran employs this name about 900 times, but as Ibn al-'Arabi often points out, it never employs it without ascribing it to something or someone. Thus God as "your Lord", "the Lord of your fathers", "the Lord of the heavens and the earth", "the Lord of the east and the west", and so on, but never just "the Lord". This is because the very meaning of the term Lord demands a vassal to which the Lord is ascribed. "The name 'Lord' is never employed without ascription, since it demands the vassal by its very existence" (II 437.8) (p.310)

    The Lord of any vassal is the face of God turned towards it. In other words, the thing's Lord is God as He discloses Himself to it, and this is determined by the preparedness of its own immutable entity. "Things are ascribed to this name [Rabb i.e., Lord] because the cosmos has need of it more than any other name, since it names everything which governs the cosmos's interests (masalih)" (II 4422.20). (p.310)

    The relationship between the Lord and vassal exists. Through it the Lord is the vassal's Lord. But there is no relationship between the vassal and the Essence of the Lord [dhat]. Hence nothing comes out of Essence ..., since the Essence does not turn Its attentiveness towards bringing the things into existence in respect of being the Essence. It only does so inasmuch as Power is attributed to It and there is nothing to prevent it. This is what is known as Divinity (II 609.2) (p.61)

    God as the Lover (al-muhibb) has no name that can denote His Essence. The divine thrall [i.e., slave], who is God's beloved, looks at His effects within himself, then names Him by those effects. The Real in turn accepts the way the thrall names Him. The divine thrall says. "O Allah!" Allah says, "Here I am." The vassal says, "O Lord!" The Lord says, "Here I am." The created one says, "O Creator!" The Creator says, "Here I am." The weak one says, "O Strong!" The Strong says, "I respond to thee." (II 360.6) (p.61)

    God possesses all possibilities, as summarized by His names [sifat]. He is God precisely in virtue of the relationships which the names denote. He is Lord (rabb) because of the vassal (marbub), Creator because of the creature, Powerful because of the object of power, Knower because of the objects of knowledge, and so on. Without the creation that actualizes His names, God would not be a god, even though, in His Essence, He is "Independent of the worlds." (p.275)

     

  3. Sample Functions of the Divine Name, Rabb
  4. Ayat No. Ayat Transliteration Ayat Translation
    1:1 'Al-Hamdu lillaahi Rabbil'Aalamiin Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all Being (worlds)
    7:61 Rasuulum-mir - Rabbil - 'Aalamiin I (Noah) am a Messenger from the Lord of all Being
    6:83 'Inna Rabbaka Hakiimun 'Aliim Surely thy Lord is All-wise, All-knowing
    7:89 Wasi-'a Rabbunna kulli shay-in ilmaa Our Lord embraces all things in His knowledge
    7:153 Walla-ziina 'amilus-sayyi-'aati summa taabuu mim-ba'-dihaa wa 'aamanuuu 'inna Rabbaka min-ba'dihaa la-Gafuurur Rahiim But those who do wrong but repent thereafter and (truly) believe,—verily Thy Lord is thereafter Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful
    7:205 Waz-kur-Rabbaka fii nafsika tazarru-'anw-wa khifa-tanw-wa dunnal-jahri minal-qaqli bil-guduwwi wal-'aasaali wa laa takum-minal-gaafi-liin And do thou (O Muhammad) remember thy Lord within thyself [i.e., in your soul] humbly and with awe, below thy breath [i.e., secretly] in the mornings and evenings. And be thou not of the neglectful.
    7:206 'Innal-laziina 'inda Rabbika laa yastak-biruuna 'an 'ibaa-datihii wa yusabbi-hunna-huu wa lahuu yas-juduun. (bow down) Lo! those who are with thy Lord are not too proud to do Him service [i.e., worship, do ibadat], but they praise Him and bow down to Him. (bow down)
    6:127 Lahum Daarus-Salaami 'inda Rabbihim Theirs is the abode of peace with their Lord

     

  5. Phrases Derived from Root Words 'Rabb' and 'Mawlâ' in our Holy Du'a

    We encounter both these qur'anic words in our Holy Du'a as shown in the following table:

    Phrase Transliteration Phrase Translation
    Rabbil 'aalameen The Lord of the worlds
    Ya Rabbal 'aalameen O Lord of the worlds
    Haiyyina Rabbana Bis-Salaam O our Lord, give us life of peace
    Tabarakta Rabbana wa Ta'alaita Blessed You are, our Lord, the most High
    Maa unzila ilayka Mir-Rabbika What has been revealed to you from your Lord
    Rabbanaghfir Lana Zunoobana O our Lord, forgive us our sins
       
    Mawlana Shah Karimil Husseini Our Lord Shah Karim Al-Husseini
    Allahumma Ya Mawlana O Allah, O our Lord
    Allahumma Ya Mawlana Minka Madadi O Allah, our Lord, from You is my help
    Ya Imamaz-Zaman, Ya Mawlana O Imam of the time, O our Lord

     

  6. The Transcendence and Immanence of Allah as described by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (a.s.)
    (Source: Peak of Eloquence—Nahjul Balagha, Sixth U. S. edition, 1996. Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Elmhurst, NY)
  7. Let us explore how Noor Mowlana Murtaza Ali (a.s.) has described the greatness and attributes of Allah in the following sermon:

    "Praise be to Allah Who lies inside all hidden things, and towards Whom all open things guide. He cannot be seen by the eye of an onlooker, but the eye which does not see Him cannot deny Him while the mind that proves His existence cannot perceive Him. He is so high in sublimity that nothing can be more sublime than He, while in nearness, He is so near that no one can be nearer than He. But his sublimity does not put Him at a distance from anything in His creation, nor does His nearness bring them on equal levels to Him. He has not informed (human) wit [i.e. intelligence] about the limits of His qualities. Nevertheless, He has not prevented it from securing essential knowledge of him. So He is such that all signs of existence stand witness for Him till the denying mind also believes in Him. Allah is sublime beyond what is described by those who liken Him to things or those who deny Him." (Source: Sermon 49 (p.181) Nahjul Balagha)

     

    All the signs of existence are connected to the Divine name 'Rabb', therefore, this name is invoked to get the spiritual and luminous bounties from Allah, Who is above all else. We use the words 'Allah' and 'Rabb' quite frequently in our tasbis. For example:

    Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad
    (O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants)

    Astaghfirullahi Rabbi wa Atubu Ilayhi
    Verily, I seek the forgiveness of Allah, who is my Lord and Sustainer, and I turn to Him in repentance.

     

    The Divine name, Rabb, is not included in the list of 99 Divine names so I have paid special attention to it through this enlightenment post. It is one of the greatest name which is full of barakat and luminosity. If we go through the ayats presented above and in enlightenment post No. 15, we will see examples where we ask for many bounties by just using the words derived from the root word, Rabb (*R B B). The whole creation is connected to the Divine name, Rabb.

 

Part 2. Angelic Salwat
Let us recite angelic salwats to invoke Divine grace and mercy.

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Allâhumâ salli alâ Muhammadin wa âle Muhammad:
O Allah! Bestow Peace on and through Muhammad and his Descendants

33 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

or

101 beads recited by Noorallah Juma

Al-hamdu lillahi rabbil 'alamin.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds!

 

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

 

Forty Deeper Spiritual Insights